Making Sense of the COVID-19 Data

By: Keith Devlin @profkeithdevlin How dangerous is the novel coronavirus, and how does that risk compare with other risks we face in our lives? That’s a question many of us asked as the pandemic started to make its way across the Atlantic. Like a number of other mathematicians, I took data from online sources such...

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Peak AP Calculus, What Comes Next? Part II

By: David Bressoud @dbressoud David Bressoud is DeWitt Wallace Professor of Mathematics at Macalester College and Director of the Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences This column was written before the covid-19 pandemic disrupted all of our lives. Nevertheless, I am keeping this post because it deals directly with issues of equity, one of the...

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Supporting our community during COVID-19

By: Michael Pearson, Executive Director of the Mathematical Association of America I find myself reflecting during this time of uncertainty. We are experiencing an unprecedented situation, where emotions are heightened and disruption seems like the new “normal.” While everything around us seems ever-changing, I want to assure you that our focus at the MAA remains...

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Community in a time of COVID-19

By: Carrie Diaz Eaton, Associate Professor of Digital and Computational Studies, Bates College, @mathprofcarrie A lot has happened over the last few months in the world. And it seemed to come to a rising frenzy over the last two weeks in academia as major conferences canceled, schools sent students home, and everyone discussed how to...

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CalcPlot3D is Better Than Ever

By: Audrey Malagon, Lead Editor of DUE Point The  CalcPlot3D graphing applet has been changing the way students interact with multivariable calculus. In this project, Monica VanDieren of Robert Morris University tells us how she and Deborah Moore-Russo (University of Buffalo) joined with CalcPlot3D creator Paul Seeburger (Monroe Community College) to study impacts on student...

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Help! I need to teach my course online and I’ve never done this before!

By: Yvonne Lai, Associate Professor of Mathematics, University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Ray Levy, Deputy Executive Director, MAA @mathcirque This is cross-posted in the AMS Blog on Teaching and Learning Mathematics with a companion post from Abbe Herzig. In times of crisis, we need community. With schools, colleges and universities mandating online teaching and learning in...

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When Strong Mentoring Relationships are Missing from the Equation, Can Women Maximize Success in the Academy?

By: Leona A. Harris, Associate Professor of Mathematics, University of the District of Columbia, @DrLeona In 2010, the American Association of University Women (AAUW) published a report indicating that there are clear gender disparities that continue to persist in the STEM educational and professional pipelines. The report, “Why So Few? Women in Science, Technology, Engineering,...

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Peak AP Calculus, What Comes Next? Part I

By: David Bressoud @dbressoud David Bressoud is DeWitt Wallace Professor of Mathematics at Macalester College and Director of the Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences Over the many years that I have reported on the AP Calculus program, I have remarked on its phenomenal rate of growth that never seemed to slow down. It now...

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Fibonacci-based music that is not a Fibonacci Folly

By: Keith Devlin @profkeithdevlin Image from the documentary film In Flowers Through Space, by Dennis Cahlo, Cary Allen Productions Regular readers, brace yourself: I am about to tell you about a new musical interpretation of the Fibonacci Sequence. Yes, I am going to describe how a group of musicians—two musicians in particular—set out to capture...

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Open Access: Where Are We?

By: Carol Baxter, Director of Publications Operations, MAA  & Paul Naish, Global Head of Portfolio for Mathematics & Statistics, Taylor & Francis @PaulNaish78 The Open Access (OA) question continues to bedevil the scientific world. How to address it and make it workable for all involved is the challenge publishers and societies face today.  Currently, a...

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